SEVEN DAYS (THE WEDNESDAY REPORT): THE WEEKLY REVIEW (FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 4) - PART A

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, March 5, 2014

HRO's news and commentary feature - SEVEN DAYS (THE WEDNESDAY REPORT) - provides a weekly review of racing activity, both on and off the track. Due to the on-going positive response this feature has received it has been expanded into two parts (A) & (B)

IN-FIGHTING (1):

When the Chief Stewards of the country’s two leading racing states can’t agree on a ruling what chance does racing participants have of being able to follow the letter of the law?

In Sydney on Saturday stewards ordered that El Roca be withdrawn from the Hobartville Stakes. That instruction was handed down after the race-day surveillance unit had found a small lump on the colt’s neck and El Roca’s stable treatment book confirmed that the horse had been given an alkalising agent intravenously (Langs IV treatment) by the stable vet at 6am on Friday.

The alkalising agent is a standard treatment generally given to horses, especially those travelling in heat but, on this occasion, Racing NSW stewards found the timing of the treatment to be in breach of the ‘one day clear’ rule which, in this case, by their interpretation, meant that El Roca could only receive treatment up to midnight on Thursday, irrespective of the fact that El Roca’s blood sample, taken when he arrived at the track on Saturday, showed the horse's bicarb levels (TC02) to be at an acceptable level.

The steward’s conclusion to all of the above was that El Roca had not been presented in strict accordance with the rules while every other runner had followed regulations.

Thus, their order for El Roca’s withdrawal and a penalty of a $2000 fine being placed against the name of trainer Trent Busuttin and Dr David Garth, who told stewards he had administered intravenously a hypertonic saline and alkalinising solution with a view to correcting a fluid and electrolyte imbalance in El Roca, with both rulings being based on a contravention of Australian Rule 178AA(1).

In assessing the penalty stewards took into account Busuttin and Garth’s good record, their co-operation and then fact that there was no intent to deceive the stewards in respect to the administration.

It didn’t take long to establish that NSW’s Chief Steward Ray Murrihy and his Victorian counterpart Terry Bailey were at odds with the interpretation of that particular law.

Whether it was prudent for Bailey to comment on a matter outside his jurisdiction is a separate matter, but once he had chimed in with the view that El Roca would have been allowed to run under the same circumstances in Victoria an inter-state conflict had been established.

Bailey claimed that there were provisions within the rule which could have changed the El Roca ruling on Saturday. He pointed out that Langs IV has only a negligible amount of an alkalizing agent in the drip and that Racing Victoria vets, ‘have clearly stated that there is nothing against the rules using such a drip and it's basically a welfare matter more than anything else.

“The spirit of the rule has been taken out of context,” Bailey said.

In contrast to that opinion, Murrihy maintains the rule doesn't have provision for allowing the Langs IV drip and Bailey was co-author of the rule established by the Australian Racing Board.

Basically the source of steward’s stand-off can be traced back to March 2013 when Racing Victoria stewards created a local rule in this regard. According to Murrihy, the Australian Racing Board passed a national rule in September last year superseding that local rule and including alkalising agents under the "one clear day" rule

“They (Victoria) have never updated that notice. It doesn’t refer to the Australian Rule of Racing. The rest of Australia is working on the Australian rule that Victoria agreed to.” Murrihy said.

"Victoria was a co-signatory and co-drafter of that particular rule that was passed on the first of September," Murrihy said, before adding, “it's disappointing to see the Australian rule and the policy that they passed and were co-author to isn't being administered. If other states aren't adhering to it, they should be."

In concluding his argument Murrihy stood by his decision, stated the obvious and threw one last left jab at Bailey.

“We can do without that type of conflict between States,” Murrihy said. “The question is why Victoria are still operating on the local rule and haven’t adopted the Australian rule.”

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While there was a level of sympathy for the horse and trainer involved in the El Roca episode (and some anger from punters) as they were caught between two worlds, Murrihy did secure solid support from his employers, Racing NSW.

Racing NSW’s Chief executive Peter V'landys pointed out that before the ‘one day clear’ rule was written in law, the rule was referred to the National Veterinary Committee to ensure that the rule would not be contrary to the health and welfare of horses in any way at all.

"Having received such assurances, the Australian Racing Board, where every state and territory was represented, resolved unanimously to adopt the new rule, effective from 1 September 2013," V'landys said.

"Accordingly, as a member of the Australian Racing Board and as a signatory to the Australian Rules of Racing, it is obligatory that Racing NSW and the Principal Racing Authorities in the other states and territories adhere to those Rules.

"Any local rule introduced by a Principal Racing Authority must be complementary to the Australian Rules of Racing and must not be in conflict with those rules."

Certainly that is a logical argument put forward by V’landys. I can’t help wondering though whether there is a contradiction in there somewhere in terms of the stand he is taking (given his own past actions) in terms of his commitment to the Australian Rules of Racing or whether he is just playing horses for courses.

The source of my doubt?

Two words.

Chris Munce.

*In December 2008 Racing NSW, under the direction of Peter V’Landys, granted a jockey’s license to Chris Munce after the HKJC banned him for 30 months over his role in the tips-for-bets scandal.

Hong Kong CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, who was also the vice-president of the international body at the time, stated that the decision flew in the face of convention where penalties imposed by one foreign horse racing authority are reciprocated by the others, under Article 10 of the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter … and there was plenty of argument and counter-argument … the Munce case highlighted a major loophole in the governing process of racing in Australia in that year as contained in Engelbrecht-Bresges’s remarks on the subject.

"I'm now informed in writing Racing NSW is not a party to that agreement," Engelbrecht-Bresges said. “The Hong Kong club is surprised to learn that while the Australian Racing Board is a signatory to the agreement, Racing NSW, as a principal racing authority, is not.”

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IN-FIGHTING (2):

Just as stewards from one state to another can’t agree on what’s written in black and white, trainers in different regions of Queensland might as well be on different planets.

In the blue corner in the “Starter’s Fee to off-set Work-Cover Premiums’ contest”, fighting under the Racing Queensland banner in a trainers’ promotion special event … from Capricornia is the Rockhampton Trainer’s Association (RTA).

In the red corner, fighting out of South East Queensland, is the Queensland Branch of the Australian Trainer’s Association (ATA – Queensland) … and your referee for tonight is Racing Queensland.
Now let’s get ready toooo …

OK, let’s cut the nonsense and get real.

The work-cover premium issue (the amounts involved, the way to offset those financial demands) and the rift between trainers of different precincts has been going on for years.

At no stage in any negotiations between these two associations mentioned above has any meaningful progress been made on this subject. It is not even a stalled situation. It has come to a full stop!

Generally, city trainers (some of whom have to pay large amounts up-front in work-cover premiums each year) are extremely unhappy with the current situation while provincial and country trainers feel aggrieved by proposed changes.

The current deal on the table, brokered by the ATA – Queensland (the domain of some of the bigger trainers) is that a $65 staters fee be introduced for all city starters, $35 for provincial TAB runners and $10 for country … to offset work-cover fees.

At an RTA meeting on Sunday, that proposal was rejected out of hand and, reportedly, one of the motions actually adopted at the meeting was to seek legal advice in terms of the RTA’s options in issuing a Supreme Court challenge if Racing Queensland were to go ahead and rubber-stamped the venture.

Interesting that they can’t pay a starter’s fee but might be able to fund a Supreme Court action!

I’m not being nasty and I’m not taking sides. I’m just pointing out what I believe to be another example of misplaced energy in this long drawn out dispute where better focus and attitude from both parties would go a long way to producing a better result.

The sad reality, as is so often the case in racing, is that you have got to remove the bad blood before you have any chance of a resolution in some issues. Sometimes the antagonism seems so intense the parties almost seem to have forgotten the importance of finding at least some common ground so that the argument can move forward and ultimately be settled in a responsible manner for the betterment of the industry.

If it transpires that there is absolutely no good-will to work with between the two associations (and how many years have to pass before that conclusion is reached) then somebody in authority has to make a huge decision.

That could be to call a result one way or another on the current deal. It could be to find somebody new (if trust, or should I say mistrust is a factor) to broker a better deal. Could there possibly be different categories of trainers responsible for a sliding scale of starter’s payment fees commensurate with their level?

Ok, don’t start another mud-fight. It was just a thought. But, If that won’t work it is time to find something that does because another five years of haggling will serve no purpose at all.

We run as one! Who’s fooling who?

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STEWARDS HELD A PAIR OF TWOS. OLIVER ONLY GUILTY BY OWN ADMISSION:

Last week a story on HRO detailed the uphill battle that stewards are facing on various fronts as they grapple with the current model of the policing structure of the game.

While that was more a forward looking piece, an interesting aside to that argument, which further substantiates the difficulties facing stewards, can be gauged by comments made by Victorian Chief Steward Terry Bailey in a recent television interview on racingnetwork.com.au concerning the ‘Damian Oliver Betting Case.’

It might be an old story, but it has present and future implications and hence is worth another look here.

Damien Oliver’s $10 000 bet back in 2012 made big headlines. Not only did it harm the image of racing as portrayed to the non-racing general public but the handling of the Oliver affair by racing authorities drew much criticism from inside racing, from the delay in attending to the matter to the penalty and suspension which was ultimately meted out to Oliver which seemed to fall oh so neatly in-between carnivals.

Racing Victoria stewards copped an awful amount of flak for that procedure and outcome. While Bailey’s frank and open explanation in the interview of the situation stewards found themselves in at that time won’t necessarily win stewards much relief, it does at least give a fresh perspective to the argument which sadly does not necessarily auger that well for the future integrity rating of the sport.

“The point some people don’t seem to get … or want to get … is that if Damien Oliver doesn’t make an admission of guilt, he doesn’t do one single day,” Bailey said. “Don’t worry about whether he should have been back in the Spring Carnival or not, the stewards had no evidence apart from the front page of the paper.

“There were plenty saying that he (Oliver) should have been stood down. It would have ended up in the Supreme Court. The steward’s defence would have been the front page of the paper.

“We still have to get back to the fact that whatever evidence was available to the police, the stewards didn’t have. The stewards had a pair of twos and when it came down to … like they do every day in court admitting or pleading guilty to a breach of the rules … in comes the bargaining as far as the penalty is concerned.

"If he doesn’t plead guilty, nothing happens! He just doesn’t do one day.”

That statement provides more insight into that inquiry than the bulk of reports emanating at the time of the case. At the same time it exposes another major problem which needs to be overcome if stewards are going to be a solid force for good that their office is intended to be … the sharing of information between police and their racing counterparts.

There have been other high profile cases in which this logical two-way street for information has not been open to traffic.

As Bailey pointed out later in the interview, “We live in a society where police have access to certain information. Whether they can give it to us is only part of the problem. The other half of the problem is whether we are entitled to use it.”

Political correctness gone mad?

Bailey’s retrospective comments merely serve to cement the premise that stewards are under the pump. They will always be one of the preferred flogging horses for punters. That comes with the territory.

But perhaps we should revisit the question of whether stewards are generally doing a good job or not and in particular instances we might need qualify the question by adding three very important words … ‘in the circumstances!’

That might lead to a more accurate answer!

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A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS:

Few in racing have managed to create a workable formula for attaining a consistent level of success.

One member of that elite club is owner / breeder Stan Johnston whose exploits with his juvenile runners from Craiglea Stud have plotted a winning path over a number of years bringing the kind of positive return on investment that most of Johnston’s contemporaries are only dreaming about.

When the debutant Executed won at Rockhampton last Thursday he became the sixth individual juvenile winner for the Craiglea team this season. Those six winners, who are all trained by Peter Fleming, have won nine races between them of the twenty-five races contested by Craiglea horses.

They have also run second on eight occasions, third six times with the one fourth placing. For the first time this season one of their two-year-olds finished out of the first four at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

True, the Craiglea runners are generally not in the big time. All of the results mentioned, bar that latest Eagle Farm result, have come in the weaker North Queensland league where the Johnston runners have created something of a stranglehold on the QTIS races but, when things are measured by the gap between outlay and return, Johnston has every reason to smile.

His formula is working for him!

“The two-year-olds are very much part of our business game-plan,” said Johnston. “We’ve got a policy which works for us. Most people wrap two-year-olds in cotton wool and go oooh, they might hurt themselves. Ours are out running in the fields. They bump into each other, they enjoy the scenery, they get some bangs but they all cope with it and are happy horses.

“It’s not as easy for those owners who want to wrap then in cotton wool to accept that way of doing things. We accept it because it has been successful for us. It’s been tried and tested with our youngsters who have come through well year after year.

“And then we are racing them up in Townsville, Mackay and Rocky … and they’re big trips!” (… from Craiglea’s Sunshine Coast base). “They handle it … then they go back again. It works for us because we know what the horses can cope with and we know how to look after them.

“Not everybody wants to do what we do with two-year-olds and not everybody can do what we do with two-year-olds even if they wanted to, so we have carved out a particular strategy for ourselves.

“Racing them is only part of the plan. We race them until they reach their level. I’ve got to work out where their level is. It’s not easy!

“As soon as I think they’re getting too much weight and have reached their level I generally sell them to Macau.

“Craiglea Missile is currently a case in point. I think I’ll sell him now. He’s a thousand dollar horse. He’s won $40 000. I’ll sell him for $30 000. That’s $70 000. It’s good. It’s quick. You don’t have to wait for a five-year-old career.”

Not everybody will necessarily agree with Johnston’s methods. There are the dreamers and the purists who might have opinions contrary to Craiglea’s mission statement, but the bottom line is that Johnston runs a business and he is successful at it.

In the tough world of horseracing where most struggle to keep their head above water, that makes Johnston a winner!

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SHORTS:

Sometimes you can make a list of things that can go wrong and something untoward will happen that was not on your list. Take the case of the John Pointon trained Sicimonachicken who became cast on a metal rail which separates a walkway from the mounting yard on the grandstand side of the parade ring at Rockhampton. Horses walk along the rail every circuit they make. On this occasion Sicimonachicken, who was fractious throughout his time in the ring, somehow managed to lift his left hind leg over the bar which left him straddling the rail. Thankfully the horse remained absolutely calm while a myriad of helpers carefully eased him out of his stressful situation. Sicimonachicken was rightfully scratched form the race, a minor inconvenience for connections, but as at least all ended well in terms of the well-being of the horse.

Some have queried whether the relatively newly laid Strathayr track at Toowoomba will be able to manage the rigours of a weekly workload. Two arguments apply. The fact that it has raced superbly in these early months of its existence, when arguably at one of its most vulnerable stages, augers well for future use. Secondly, if you ask anybody who has actually had a good, first-hand look at the Strathayr track at either Mackay or Toowoomba, you will find an almost unanimous thumbs-up for the racing surface, to the degree that some have suggested it is a track that other venues should aspire to. As to workload? The definitive answer to that can only be gauged over time and not through supposition. Just remember, this is not your ordinary, old school racing surface. It’s better than that but, like any track, its on-going success will ultimately rest on its care and management it receives. The club and its track consultants have got it right so far (remember similar concerns were expressed that the track would not be ready for its scheduled opening which proved unfounded) so there is no reason at this time to suggest they won’t continue to deliver.

Country and provincial race meetings are generally undertaken on a more relaxed basis than its city counterparts and I’m all for that … but I'm not certain Travis Wolfgram got it right when he decided to come out and have a quick lie down for a couple of minutes in the parade ring next to the winners’ enclosure just before he had to mount up for one of his rides at Toowoomba. He was on a $26 chance which duly finished 9.50 lengths behind the winner but you’d think the horse’s connections would be entitled to more pre-race application than that!

There was a good early tip for those who attended the Toowoomba meeting. The Wayne Nugent trained Multiplication was given as a scratching for race two by the track announcer when it was indeed a runner. The mistake was correctly over the public address system before Multiplication went out to race but you know how things pan out in these situations. Multiplication started at $4.80 and won by 1.80 lengths.

Trainers often talk about the need to keep horses happy and it is fair to suggest that the attitude and mood of those working with horses on race-day (trainers, strappers, jockeys) can, and does have, an effect on some horse’s demeanour. Give credit then to apprentice Brooke Stower who clearly enjoys her trade. She noticeably exhibits a keen, friendly spirit when in the saddle which clearly helps her make the most of her opportunities as horses appear to run for her. Stower currently lies fourth in the Toowoomba Premiership.

The Tony Sears trained I Am Boss scored his second win in only five starts at Eagle Farm. Added merit to the success was the manner in which it was achieved. “I don’t think anything went right for him in the race except the result,” explained jockey Tim Bell. “I was getting bumped (particularly on the turn) on a number of occasions by the inside horse and was then sort of pin-balling off that outside runner. That’s the reason why, when I straightened up, I had to go for him about a furlong later than I wanted to. I had to make sure he was balanced before I actually went for him.” *The eventual winning margin was 0.20 lengths over the $61 outsider Knightwick Manor, who probably would have lost the race on protest had she beaten I Am Boss to the line.

A Ballina connection came to town on Saturday and won in the form of Storm Fabulator ($21) for trainer John Everson and value price jockey Jason Taylor. Storm Fabulator has an interesting story behind his name as told by John Everson: “He was bred in Argentina. He was broken in by Monty Roberts in California. He left California and flew to New Zealand. He spelled In New Zealand. Then came out to Australia. He was with Peter Moody for a little while. Peter didn’t think he was going to make it down there so he sent him up here. He’s been everywhere!”

The Len Treloar trained Heartfelt Quest completed a hat trick of wins on Saturday. The decision to bring the horse back in distance paid handsome dividends ($13) and Treloar was happy to provide some insight into that move. “I just felt his last run over the 1800 was probably just as far as he wants to go distance-wise at the moment. I thought bringing him back to a mile would be perfect for him and, with that genuine speed on, the mile did suit him ideally. Geoff (Goold) just brought him into the race at the right time and to our benefit the bob of the head was in our favour.”

Trainers Tony Gollan and Matthew Dunn continue to trade punch for punch at the top of the Brisbane Premiership leader-board. Gollan scored with Rocket To Glory in the fourth race on Saturday while Dunn won with Londehero in the last. Gollan and Dunn still can’t be separated as they gradually slip further ahead of defending champion Robert Heathcote who last added to his Metropolitan tally when Excellantes saluted on February 1
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Rocket To Glory’s high cruising speed helped him stop the clock in 56.60 seconds (under 57,5kg) over the Eagle Farm 1000m but Tony Gollan is itching to get the gelding over more ground. “I believe now he is better suited to six and I’m keen to try him out to seven (furlongs),” Gollan said. “I believe these five furlongs races now are much harder for him than getting him out to six.”

After his latest result Londehero is now two from two over 1200m at Eagle Farm. “He has struggled with maturity,” Matthew Dunn said. “Even as close as last preparation he pulled up shin-sore after his last run when we tried to get him to run 1400. He appeared not to quite get it. He’ll probably not get 1400 this prep either but his future lies over 1400 to 1600 as a four-year-old as he gets a bit bigger and a bit stronger. He will have the world at his feet if he can really run up to his work.”

Apprentice Samuel Payne rode his first, city, Saturday winner when he piloted the Stewart McKinnon trained My Quilter victory on Saturday.

For the third successive time Kempelly proved too strong for his rivals when taking out the sixth race at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Nozi Tomizawa, who rarely rides in Brisbane, completed a city double on the four-year-old gelding. After Kempelly’s previous win Tomizawa said, “So many people asked me … you are only going there (from Toowoomba) for one ride but I knew how good he was.” Once again Tomizawa only had one ride at the meeting. Once again it was from the coveted number one draw and once again he got the result he was looking for!

Trainer Les Ross admitted he was worried about Mishani Warrior’s ability to see out the mile before Saturday’s feature, the Tattersall’s Members’ Cup, but he decided to back the judgement of jockey Brad Stewart. “Brad rang me on Monday morning and said, did you have a look at the noms for this race. I said no … and he said it is probably an easier race than next week. He was right. I was worried about the mile. Brad said he’ll run it. He was right. We do have big plans for the horse. He is going to the paddock now and then we are looking at the Winter Carnival. We’ve talked about the Stradbroke which is everybody’s dream but we keep lifting the bar and he keeps getting over it so, until that changes, that’s where we’ll try to head.”

Tegan Harrison might have drawn a blank on Saturday but another slice of history awaits the champion apprentice. Harrison, who broke the record for the most Metropolitan winners in a season by a female rider last year, is just two winners away from becoming the first female rider to outride her city claim with the level to achieve that set at eighty winners (and not sixty winners as was previously the case).

Defending premiership champion and current premiership leader Michael Cahill won't appeal the six-meeting suspension he received after pleading guilty to causing interference at Eagle Farm on Wednesday. The suspension is Cahill’s first since June last year. It comes into effect at midnight on March 5.

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